Chasing Grace, starring Michael Joiner (‘The Grace Card’), David Temple ('The Last
Passport'), Rusty Martin (‘Courageous’) and Ashlee Payne (‘Red Dirt
Rising’), tells a story of two brothers who are opposites in many ways, yet have an undeniable bond. When an unthinkable accident occurs, blame and unforgiveness tears the brothers apart and impacts the lives of family and friends. Slowly, as more secrets are uncovered, the truth emerges, but not without a lot of pain and consequences as each person deals with the loss of Grace. share a close bond,
despite the different paths they have taken, until an unimaginable
event takes place. As the story unravels, buried lies--- and truth are
both discovered. Chasing Grace is loosely based upon true events and is an adaptation of writer/director David Temple's novel Discovering Grace. This
powerful story about the redeeming power of forgiveness also stars Billy Dec, Leon Pridgen,
Mitzi Corrigan, Vanessa Ore, and Abigail Rose Cornell as Grace. It is produced by Catalyst Pictures, LLC and
distributed by Word Films.
My Review: This is another I am a bit on the fence about. I liked it, but I didn't love it. Great message, but it was a little slow in getting to the purpose of the film and I sometimes got confused during the telling of the story. Layers of the story were revealed throughout the film, but some never did make complete sense to me. Of course, part of my experience was simply a personal inability to comprehend why anyone would act or react to a situation the way they did. I needed more indepth into characters than what was provided; there was some black, white, and a few shades of gray, but not enough color to characters for many to feel a connection. The acting, music, and cinematography were all good, but my mind did tend to wander. It's more of a 3.75 for me, but I will round up and give it 4 stars.
Disclosure: I received this DVD compliments of Word Films
and Edify Media Inc for my honest review. Chasing Grace website
Hero: Joe Finn (Burgess Jenkins) was a local legend in the world of baseball, but a miserable
failure as a husband, father, and friend. Now, seven years after leaving
home, he returns just in time to say goodbye to his dying wife (Ashlee Payne) and
hello to a son (Justin Miles) and a community who consider him as good as dead. Intent on making his life right, he turns to the only thing he knows -- baseball. But Little League is all but unrecognizable
in Miller's Gap, and parental involvement is at an all-time low. Even
as his actions begin to warm the hearts of some, others in the community
threaten to get rid of Joe's team for good. Can Joe win back his son
and revitalize a dying game, or is he seven years too late to redeem the
mess of his own making? Hero is directed by Manny Edwards, who also co-wrote with John Fornof. The stars are Burgess Jenkins, Justin Miles, R. Keith Harris, Gregory Alan Williams,
Mark Joy, Ashlee Payne, Fred Griffith, Jim McKeny, Andrea Powell, and
Nicholas Edwards as "Sammy" Also starry Blaine Goodwin, Sam Dubin, Ty
Myatt, Kenny Hinkle, and Walker Anthony. George D. Escobar, Burgess Jenkins, and Michael Snyder are the producers.
Official Selection - Christian Worldview Film Festival Official Selection - Gideon Media Arts Conference and Film Festival
My Review: I have been hearing about this film since it was first being made, so I have kept up with the progress from the beginning. So, although I expected to like it, I truly did not expect to get drawn into the story as quickly as I did. I always watch a film a minimum of twice because my attention wanders; I consider the first viewing to just give me a general idea of the story before I really watch it. Within 5 minutes, I was sitting down, fully focused on the story being told.
This is a story of hope, forgiveness, reconciliation, and redemption. I noticed a couple of little glitches, but nothing overly distracting. I enjoyed the acting, the cinematography, the sound (too often I have to go back to try to understand what was said in other films), and that there was closed captioning. At only 94 minutes, it's not too long, and it is great for a Family Film Night. Some of the material may be harder for kids younger than 10 to understand, but they will probably like the baseball scenes. I highly recommend this dvd.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this DVD from EDIFY MEDIA as part of
the movie's promotion. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC
16 CFR, Part 255 'Guides concerning the use of endorsements and
testimonials in advertising. I was not asked to write a positive review
and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.
GIVEAWAY: Edify Media has another copy of HERO to give away!! Just leave a comment on the blog to be entered. Deadline to Enter is Sept. 30 at Noon (CDT)Reminder: I do monitor due to Spammers. Be patient, and contact me only if your comment does not appear with 24 hours. Thanks!
